NC Gov. signs bill to repeal protections for LGBT community

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed a bill passed by the North Carolina legislature on Wednesday that repeals protections for members of the LGBT community.

The bill was authored to prevent NC municipalities, such as Charlotte, passing laws of their own to protect LGBT community rights.

Charlotte for example, passed an ordinance barring discrimination and allowing transgender people to use the bathroom appropriate to the gender to which they identify.

All Republicans and 11 Democrats in NC’s House of Representatives backed the repeal of anti-LGBT discrimination and in the Senate, the bill passed 32-0 when all the State’s Democratic Senators walked out.

“We witnessed an affront to democracy,” said Democratic Sen. Dan Blue of Raleigh, the minority leader. “We will not be silent.”

The sweeping bill blocks any NC municipality from passing their own anti-discrimination laws in the future.

“This is about protecting — not from a transgender, necessarily — but from a predator,” said GOP state Rep. Pat McElraft.

Twitter reaction to this bill was swift, with the #WeAreNotThis emerging in opposition and quickly becoming popular.

One transgender man pointed out to NC Gov. McCrory why he feels this bill does not make sense.